Opinion:Coca-Cola Journey - Why We're Here

I have never heard of a successful company that moved slowly. The tech giants and nimble startups of Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley and Silicon Roundabout are transforming our lives at an unimaginable clip, and they are teaching the rest of us a lesson. Move fast and create disruptive innovation.

Today, we launch the most ambitious rethink of Coca-Cola's web properties since we launched our first website in 1995. And while we hope you enjoy the beautiful design and compelling content in these pages, you might ask yourself why we're here. Why would any brand do this?

We’re here because more than 1.8 billion times a day, every day, people express their love for our brands by purchasing one of our products. But those purchases are more than transactional. They’re emotional. We know because more than 50 million people have become our fans on Facebook, and millions of others have posted photos, videos and blog posts that demonstrate their passion for Coca-Cola. We’re here because our consumers allow us —and want us — to be here.

We want Coca-Cola Journey to be a place where thoughtful people indulge their curiosity about the world around them, engage in a civil discussion and hopefully learn a little more about one of the world's best-known companies. For our part, we commit to be an open, transparent, and honest host and a thoughtful curator.

We're doing this because we're optimistic about our world, and we think we have something to contribute to the global dialogue. While we'll touch on many subjects over the years to come, we'll pay special focus to the areas where we believe Coca-Cola is leading: great brands and marketing, innovation, sustainability, entrepreneurship and trade. We've chosen these themes not out of blind optimism, but because they are the cornerstones of trends and dynamics that are real and tangible and have long-term positive implications.

For the debut edition of Coca-Cola Journey, we’ll take you to India, where Coca-Cola is collaborating with local governments, NGOs, the country’s most famous cricket player (and maybe the world’s most famous person), and a television network to get kids back in school. We’re also going back in advertising history to tell the story of the man behind the world’s largest Coke crate, sharing our CEO Muhtar Kent’s approach to innovation, and exploring our latest, most technologically advanced vending machine. We’ll take you to “America’s Favorite Park” and meet the people that rallied a small town to cast more than 28 million votes and put their park on the map for a USD $100,000 grant. And since traveling is better with music, we have a Spotify playlist of songs for you that will go great with a Coke.

So join us on our journey. Give it your energy. Make it global. Share it. Make it yours.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.